Naruto of Myoboku
by theleadingman08
Summary: What if Naruto had been raised at Mount Myoboku by Jiraiya and the toads? How would events play out differently upon his return to Konoha for the genin exams? Strongish Naruto, NaruHina.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or its characters. Kishimoto does.

**Chapter 1: Prologue and Return  
**

**

* * *

**

Though the office had seen constant use through years on end, it suddenly felt forlorn, as though a part of it had died with its owner. The scrupulously cleaned desk now seemed coated in a thick layer of dust. Specters of future cobwebs hung in every corner. The room was dead. In spite of the sounds of both celebration mourning outside, its three occupants sat in silent contemplation, caught up in an oppressive silence.**  
**

"So what are we gonna do with him?" asked a white haired man at last, holding a blissfully quiet bundle of blankets.

"It's difficult to say Jiraiya," responded an elderly man. His stern appearance gave the impression of a man who would be easily irritated, but at that moment the only emotion he radiated was sadness, "I know Minato wanted to be treated as a hero, but that you know as well as I do that the people won't share his sentiment."

Jiraiya sighed in agreement with Hiruzen. It was unfortunate, but that was the most likely case. After the destruction the fox had brought down upon the village, the people would need someone to blame. The perfect target for their hatred was now resting peacefully in his arms.

"He won't live peacefully in Konoha, that much is certain," continued Hiruzen Sarutobi, "The marks on his cheeks are a dead giveaway. No one here will treat him like a normal human being," a defeated look that made him seem decades older settled upon Sarutobi's face.

"Unless..." the old man looked up hopefully, "would you be willing...?"

"NO WAY!" shouted Jiraiya. Suddenly worried, he glanced down, but his yell had thankfully not awakened the child, "No way," he repeated much more quietly, "do you _really _want _me_ of all people to raise _any _kid, let alone _Minato's _kid?"

"You can take him to Mount Myoboku, can't you? The toads could train him and keep an eye on the seal at the same time. You knew Minato better than almost anyone," he winced at his use of the past tense, but pressed onward, "You know he wouldn't have sealed the fox inside of a child without a reason. Minato gave this boy some sort of destiny, so we had best make sure he's prepared for it. And who else could better prepare him for it than you and the toads of Myoboku?"

Jiraiya sighed again, this time in resignation. His sensei was right, as usual, "All right. I'll take him to Fukasaku. I'm sure he won't object to this."

"Good," said Sarutobi with a nod, "take care of him and train him well. Bring him back here for the genin exams when he's twelve. He should be prepared by then. And I'll make it known that the child containing the nine tailed fox passed away, taking the demon with it. If all goes well, nobody will look twice at him once he returns.

* * *

**Twelve Years Later:**

"Well, well? Are ya gonna tell me about where we're going? C'mon, tell me, tell meee!"

"Fine, I'll talk, now will you just shut up for a minute Naruto?"

The blond youth did not say anything, but merely nodded in affirmation, afraid that vocally answering would break the 'shut up' rule. Naruto and Jiraiya were sitting in the shade of a giant leaf at the cratered peak of Mount Myoboku, home of the toads.

"Alright, we're going to Konoha.."

"YAHOO!" the boy leaped to his feet and literally began bouncing off the walls, or trees more accurately.

"What did I just say!?" shouted Jiraiya.

"Oh, sorry." the child sat back down and began fidgeting, almost trembling in anticipation. He had been to a few small villages on trips with Jiraiya, but a city the size of Konoha was a sight he had not yet seen.

Jiraiya cleared his throat. "As I was saying, you'll be going to live in Konoha from now on. I'll be spending most of my time there with you, but I'll still have to go out on the occasional mission."

That was alright. Jiraiya left often enough that he was used to it. He was however a little scared that the toads wouldn't be with him either.

"What'll I do when you're not around?" he asked worriedly, "I don't know anyone there."

"Don't worry, once you get there and ace the genin exams, you'll be assigned to a team. Not only that, but I've trained you well," Jiraiya winked, "so you'll have a girlfriend in no time at all."

Naruto folded his arms. "Yeah, whatever..."

Jiraiya sighed. _He hasn't spent enough time around the opposite sex to realize how wonderful women are. That'll change soon enough, though._

"So when do we leave, huh? Are we leaving soon? Are we? C'mon, tell me we're leaving soon!"

_How did I put up with this kid for twelve years? _Jiraiya wondered as he buried his face into the palm of his hand. Steeling himself, for the coming explosion, he said, "We'll leave as soon as you're ready."

"YAHOO!" the kid shouted in a loud voice that nearly made Jiraiya's ears bleed as the call echoed through the mountain. "I'm ready right now! Let's go let's go let's go!" and with that he turned around and began running in a random direction.

"Hold your horses, kid. You aren't ready yet. You still have to get dressed."

Naruto snorted, "I am dressed."

Jiraiya took a good look at his apprentice and adopted son. The child's messy long hair was tied up in the same fashion as his own. Dirt was smeared across his face, obscuring his whiskers. He was barefoot, wearing only an utterly plain brown robe over his undergarments. No the boy was most certainly _not _dressed.

"Go wash up and I'll show you your new clothes when you're done."

* * *

"Isn't this a bit much?" Naruto mused as he and Fukasaku inspected the outfit Jiraiya had picked out for him.

"Of course it isn't! This is perfect! You want to be a sage when you grow up, right?"

Naruto nodded eagerly.

"Well then you'll have to look the part! Trust me, kid. In this, ladies will swoon over you and enemies will flee at the very sight of you! You'll be ten times the shinobi you are now once you put this on!"

"Whoa, it's really that important?"

"Not really," Fukasaku muttered so quietly that no one else heard him.

"Of course!" Jiraiya exclaimed so loudly that the entire mountain heard him.

Naruto silently mouthed 'wow,' and allowed Jiraiya to help him dress up without complaint.

_Ha, perfect! This kid will be a real lady killer! All the girls at the academy will be clinging to him. He'll be living out my dream, this one. _Jiraiya stood back to admire his handiwork.

Naruto's hair was now in a slightly neater ponytail, although it was still spiky. He wore a plain black t-shirt covered by a long, red, short sleeved haori with a black flame design near the bottom. Bandages (handy for concealing small weapons) covered his forearms. Long white pants covered his legs, and his feet were now clad in practical, easy to move in sandals. Completing the outfit, an dark blue cloth belt was tied around his waist on the outside of the haori, holding it in place so that it would not slip up in the middle of combat. A moderately sized scroll containing various ninja tools was strapped to the back of it.

_Good looking, sturdy, and practical. I did a good job here. Heh, sometimes I amaze even myself_, Jiraiya thought as he nodded in a self satisfied manner.

"Alright, now you're ready, kid."

Jiraiya grabbed Naruto's shoulder, and with a sudden burst of white smoke, the two of them vanished.

* * *

The 'bang' of a summoning jutsu, or in this case a reverse summoning, sent birds flying off in alarm from what had been a calm grove of trees by the road. Naruto squinted in the suddenly blinding sunlight, and immediately caught sight of Granny Shima standing in front of them with a smile.

"Welcome back to your true home, Naruto."

"It doesn't look like much," replied Naruto, staring down the desolate road.

Jiraiya chuckled, "Turn around, kid."

Naruto did as he was bidden, and suddenly forgot the bright sunlight, opening his eyes wide at the sight before him.

"Wooooow!"

Massive stone walls rose dozens of meters from the ground, framing a huge gate that sat wide open. Inside, he could see closely packed buildings that dwarfed everything he had previously seen in any of the villages he had visited in the past. More people than he had seen in the entirety of his life bustled back and forth down wide streets. And this was just the small fraction of the city that wasn't concealed behind the wall.

"Well Naruto," said Shima tearfully, "I guess this is good b-"

"Cool!" shouted Naruto, rushing toward the hidden village without so much as a backward glance.

Shima couldn't help but laugh through her tears.

"Don't worry," Jiraiya reassured her, "he'll be back before you know it, hopefully for sage training."

"Right, well I guess I should get back home. Pa will probably be getting cranky by now."

She formed a hand sign and vanished in a puff of smoke identical to the one that had summoned Jiraiya and Naruto.

"Going back will probably make Fukasaku even more cranky," Jiraiya muttered helplessly. He turned to see Naruto almost at the gates. "Hey! Wait up!" he shouted.

* * *

"Morning!" Jiraiya shouted as loudly as possible while he forcefully slammed both of his hands down on the desk of guard house, waking up the two negligent shinobi.

"Wha- Master Jiraiya!" one of them said with a start. "Please forgive us sir! We, uh..."

"Forget it," replied Jiraiya. It wasn't as though he had never fallen asleep on guard duty himself.

"A-anyways, go right on in, Master Jiraiya and..." he turned questioningly to the youth.

"Ah, yes," Jiraiya swept the boy forward. "This is Naruto Uzumaki, my apprentice."

"Welcome to Konoha. I've already signed you in, so go on ahead."

Jiraiya nodded. There would usually be paperwork to fill out, but being one of the Legendary Sannin had its benefits. His hands were firmly clasped around Naruto's shoulders to prevent him from running off, but the boy was still trying to break free.

"Easy Naruto," Jiraiya said, "we're going to visit the hokage first. You can go exploring after that.

"All right," he replied grudgingly, clearly disappointed that he didn't get to go exploring _now_. Even so, what little he did see on the way to the hokage tower impressed him. Everyone was so _busy _in Konoha. The frogs at Mount Myoboku took things slowly, but these people seemed to in a hurry to get everything done. He had to admit that the sheer number of people, along with the fact that very few of them spared them so much as a glance was a little intimidating. The city seemed a little impersonal, but Grandpa Jiraiya had assured him that he would make friends quickly.

Naruto uttered another 'wow' upon their arrival at the hokage tower. Jiraiya wondered how long it would be until Naruto stopped saying that. It was nice to know that the kid was enjoying himself, but this was starting to get annoying. After Naruto charged up the stairs with an exhausted Jiraiya chasing him, the pair was admitted into the hokage's office. Naruto looked around the relatively plain room, but the only thing there was a grumpy looking old man sitting behind a desk.

"Hey gramps," Naruto said loudly, "where's the hokage?"

Sarutobi bristled at the statement. He wasn't _that _old, was he?

"I _am_ the hokage. Since Jiraiya's with you, I assume you're Naruto."

The brat nodded, still seemingly amazed at the age of the hokage. Jiraiya stepped forward, pushing the kid aside and saying, "Why don't you leave the talking to me, eh Naruto? It's been a while, Hiruzen."

"It has indeed. You've trained him well, I hope."

"You think we would have come back without producing any results? He'll have no trouble with the genin exams next week. Actually, why don't we send him over to the academy right now? He should have just enough time to introduce himself to the other students, if I remember the class schedules correctly." _And with any luck someone will take him out to eat and get him out of my hair for an hour or two. _He turned toward Naruto and pulled something out of his pocket. "Here's some money for food. I'll come find you after I'm done talking with Lord Hokage here."

Sarutobi nodded and snapped his fingers. At once a ninja walked through the doors.

"Yes, Lord Hokage?"

"Please escort Jiraiya's apprentice to the ninja academy."

"As you wish." the man said, then turned toward Naruto. "If you would follow me?"

Shivering with excitement at the prospect of meeting other kids his age, Naruto allowed himself to be led from the office.

* * *

It was near the end of class, which meant that Iruka was once again contemplating retirement. The kids were too much for him all day long, but it was especially bad during the last hour. Everyone was too eager to leave to pay attention to anything he said. The door slid open, and a fellow chuunin walked in. _Good, maybe he's coming in to replace me. _But to Iruka's horror, the man simply led yet _another_ brat into his classroom, yet _another _headache that he would be dealing with. He had spent enough time around children that he could usually judge their character on sight, and he could tell that this kid would be a handful. His odd clothing aside, the boy gave off a kind of hyperactive aura. _This kid will be worse than Kiba, I can already tell._

"Who's this?" he asked the chuunin.

"Naruto Uzumaki, from out of town. I understand that he has already undergone training, and the hokage himself has informed me that he is prepared for the genin exams. He shouldn't be any trouble."

Iruka managed to restrain a sigh. 'He shouldn't be any trouble' was a phrase he had heard on many occasions. Never once had it proved to be true. Of course, if this Naruto really was ready for the exams, he would only have to deal with the boy for a week. "Very well then, why don't you introduce yourself to the class, Naruto?"

Not needing any further encouragement, the boy leaped forward and declared, "I'm Naruto Uzumaki. I was raised by the toads at Mount Myoboku. I really like toads, and my dream is..." he struck a pose, "to be the number one toad sage in all the world!"

_Yeah, he'll be a headache,_ Iruka thought dryly as several members of the class, mostly the girls, began whispering to each other. From what he could tell, about half of them were excited by his exotic appearance, while the other half were disgusted by the thought of being raised by frogs. "Okay, class. I'll be letting you all out early today. Why doesn't someone show Naruto around the city..." _so that _I_ won't have to deal with him until Monday._

The entire class cheered at being able to escape from school, and most of them gathered at the doorway attempting to push their way through more quickly than the narrow door would allow. A handful of girls remained behind to talk with the newcomer, while a heavily blushing girl with pearly white eyes attempted to hide behind her desk._ Great, now Hinata will be even more shy._

_

* * *

_Naruto found himself being dragged through the streets by a gang of chattering girls. He couldn't help but feel a little intimidated._ Grandpa Jiraiya actually_ likes_ this? These girls are scary._

"So what do you like to eat, Naruto?"

"Um..." he had never really thought about it. The only thing he ever got to eat back home was the soup Grandma Shima made. "I don't know."

"Whoa, that's so cool," one of them said.

_How is that cool? _"Uh, actually, I have to go meet my grandpa, so, uh, bye." It was technically true, even though he had no idea when that would be or where he had to go. He fled without a backward glance, leaving the girls muttering disappointedly behind him. When he sharply turned a corner, he crashed into someone. Picking himself up off the ground, he took a good look at her, and vaguely recognized the white eyes and purple hair as belonging to someone he had seen in the back of the room at the academy.

Noticing her face, he asked, "Are you okay, your face is all red. Do you have a fever or something?"

As soon as the comment left him, her face became an even deeper shade of red. Realizing she was still on the ground, he held out a hand to help her up. She took one look at it and became as scarlet as his haori.

"Th-thank you..." she muttered, refusing to meet his eyes, as he helped her to her feet.

"Say, do you know someplace where I can get some food? I'm starving."

Seemingly unable to speak, the girl simply nodded.

"Great! Lead the way!"

As they walked forward, she unsteadily and he excitedly, Naruto cast a sidelong glance at her. _What's with this girl? She's all weird and gloomy... Oh well! Maybe she'll talk more while we eat. Still, she'd be kinda pretty if she wasn't all depressed..._


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or its characters. Kishimoto does.

**Chapter 2: Settling In  
**

"So," began the Third Hokage, "tell me about Naruto."

"Well for starters, he has no dress sense. Can you believe he wanted to come here in just a plain brown robe?" Jiraiya did not give the old man a chance to respond before he continued, "I mean, that may have been all he needed with the toads, but there are _women_ in Konoha for crying out loud! Still, I managed to get him into a dashing new outfit. The ladies are probably swooning over him as we speak-"

"Jiraiya!" Sarutobi interrupted impatiently, "I meant tell me about his skills!"

Jiraiya actually had the gall to feign surprise.

"Oh, so that's what you wanted! He knows about the fox. I told him about it when he was young so he grew up with the knowledge. I don't think he appreciates just how significant a fact it is yet, but I made him swear not to breathe a word of it to anyone all the same. I also used the key to re-strengthen the seal on it before he came here, just as a precaution. So far, he's never drawn on the fox's chakra beyond what naturally mixes in with his own chakra. I plan on teaching him eventually, but he's not ready for that yet."

"As for his ninja skills," Jiraiya went on, "he doesn't really grasp theory very well and he's hopeless at genjutsu, but his taijutsu is above average and his ninjutsu is nothing short of astounding for a child his age. Aside from the academy basics, he has a summoning contract with the toads, and he knows a few of my jutsu along with some wind nature transformation."

Sarutobi suddenly choked on the smoke coming from his pipe and exclaimed, "You taught a twelve year old nature transformation!? Don't you think he's a bit young to be wielding something so dangerous?"

Jiraiya shrugged, "He's progressed more quickly than I expected, at least in ninjutsu. I've told him repeatedly how serious nature techniques are. Rest assured he won't use them lightly. Anyways, don't the Uchiha teach their children the fireball jutsu?"

"Well," said Sarutobi uncomfortably, "they used to at any rate. I guess you haven't heard that the clan was wiped out."

"What!?" Jiraiya shouted, alarming the guards outside.

Sarutobi sighed heavily, "They were killed by Itachi Uchiha, one of their own. He spared no one save for his own younger brother, Sasuke."

An uncomfortable silence gripped the office for a moment until Jiraiya hastily changed the subject.

"Well, I'd better go find Naruto... or is there something else you would like to discuss?"

"No, no, by all means, go find the boy. It won't do to have him wandering around the city alone on his first day here."

_Heh, if I trained him well, he'll be in the company of some lovely ladies. He'll be wishing that I had left him to his own devices a bit longer._

_

* * *

_Naruto had to admit that this ramen stuff was really, _really_ good. He wouldn't mind eating it to the exclusion of everything else for the rest of his life. Still, he wasn't able to fully enjoy it because of his worry for the girl next to him. Despite his many attempts at striking up conversation, the only thing he had gotten from her was that her name was Hinata. While he was inhaling his fifth bowl, she seemed more interested in playing with her food than eating it.

After watching her pick up a few noodles with her chopsticks only to let them fall back into the bowl, he asked, "Are you okay? You look like you're sick or something."

Just as she had every other time he attempted to make conversation, she made a small 'eep!' noise and turned an even deeper shade of red than she had been before. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before the Ichiraku guy behind the counter would be able to fry an egg on her face.

Shaking his head at the odd behavior of Hinata, Naruto finished off the bowl in front of him and asked for another one.

* * *

It didn't take Jiraiya long to find Naruto. All he had to do was peek into all of the restaurants he came across until he spotted the distinctive clothes he had gifted his godson with. After only two minutes of searching, he caught sight of the boy sitting next to a pretty young lady at a ramen stand called Ichiraku's. Jiraiya cheered silently as he watched through a gap in the curtains surrounding the establishment.

_Those white eyes and unmarked forehead... he's picked up a member of the head family of the Hyuuga clan. Good job kid! I knew you had it in you! This'll be great material for my next book.  
_

Yet as he took notes, he couldn't help but feel that something was amiss. A horrible thought, one that he desperately wanted to deny, began forming. But the more he watched, the more certain he became that he was terribly right.

_No! It can't be! He... he doesn't even realize the little lady has the hots for him!?_

Jiraiya's heart was clutched in the depths of despair. He had thought that he had trained the boy well, yet here he was, oblivious to the blindingly obvious truth that the girl not a meter from was head over heels for him.

_I've failed him. I've failed as a teacher..._

* * *

Hinata was beginning to regret taking the newcomer out to eat. She couldn't gather the courage to say more that one word to the handsome boy next to her. All she was doing was making a fool of herself. His confidence when he had spoken in front of the class had been almost inspiring. He seemed to exude an aura of cheerfulness and determination. For just a moment after he had appeared, she somehow felt stronger. But now that he was right next to her...

_Father was right. I am weak._

---

The girl suddenly spoke up without prompting from another person for the first time since Naruto had met her.

"E-excuse me, but... but I, um, really need to go home now..."

"Oh, okay. It was nice meeting you." said Naruto, utterly confused by her behavior. _Is she mad at me or something?_

Hinata stumbled out of the restaurant, looking as though her legs would fall from beneath her at any moment. Naruto shrugged and went straight back to his ramen. _This stuff really is delicious. I wonder if Grandma Shima could make it? _

His thoughts were interrupted by Grandpa Jiraiya's return. For some reason, the old man had a dejected look on his face.

"What's wrong, Grandpa? Did you get rejected by another woman?" Naruto was well aware of perverted tendencies, along with the trouble that they inevitably landed him in. The look Jiraiya was currently wearing was indeed consistent with his usual depression after being chased from yet another town.

"Wha-? Oh no, nothing like that, I was just thinking..."

Naruto donned a confused expression that suited him well.

"Well," said Jiraiya, suddenly brisk. "We'd best get to my apartment. Starting tomorrow, we'll try to get you acquainted with the town before you go to school on Monday. But for now we need to get you settled into your new home."

Naruto nodded and tossed _all_ of the coins that his godfather had given him on the counter. Jiraiya thought for a moment that the boy was confused about how money worked, but then he noticed the stack of bowls that was level with his own suddenly widened eyes. _Whoa. I knew the kid could eat, but this is just ridiculous._

* * *

Just like every other part of the city, Jiraiya's apartment turned out to be amazing. Or at least it was from Naruto's point of view. The domicile had a small living room, a tiny kitchen, two cramped bedrooms, and a single bathroom. It was large enough for two people to live in with relative discomfort. Even so, it was still larger than anything Naruto had lived in. The home he had lived in on Mount Myoboku had been built with toads like Grandpa Fukasaku and Grandma Shima in mind, not a rapidly growing hyperactive boy.

As Naruto unpacked his few possessions and prepared for bed, he was already quivering in anticipation for tomorrow, when he would be able to thoroughly explore the hidden village. But even more than that, he was excited for Monday, when he would start school.

Laying down in his bed, he at last drifted into dreams filled with ramen, toads, and white eyes.

* * *

Konoha, as it turned out, was a wonderful place to eat. Jiraiya's pockets were beginning to feel the strain of taking care of a twelve year old's stomach. He had originally intended to make his trip to the Hidden Leaf Village into something of a vacation, but found himself already wishing that the hokage would send him on a mission. At the rate Naruto's eating habits were draining his finances he would be broke by the end of the month, even with all of the money his novels had earned him.

And so it was with great relief that Jiraiya was able to hand him off to the school teachers on Monday. Naruto wasted no time in taking the front and center seat of the class. It was the sign of either a great student or a loudmouth, and Iruka already knew which it would be in Naruto's case.

"Alright class, as you all know this is the last week before the exams on Friday. As such, we'll be reviewing theory today and tomorrow before going over practical exercises on Wednesday and Thursd-"

"That's boring! Can't we just go straight to working on jutsu?" shouted the student at the front and center seat.

Iruka placed his hands on his temples, attempting to massage away the headache that had already formed. "Naruto, since this is your first time in a classroom, I'll go easy on you just this once. You aren't to interrupt me during my lectures. I'm the teacher, so what I say goes, understood."

Yeah, sure..." Naruto grumbled and muttered something afterward that Iruka couldn't quite catch.

"So, first question. Could someone explain to me what chakra is?"

With an audible 'thud,' Naruto's head hit his desk in frustration. Throughout the rest of the day Naruto said not a single word, but he still managed to find ways to communicate his boredom. Iruka heard a melodramatic sigh at regular intervals whenever his back was turned, and on one occasion a pencil hit the back of his head. It was no difficult feat to catch the perpetrator, given that Naruto had started the day with a pencil, but had mysteriously misplaced it at the exact moment that the projectile had struck the teacher.

Worse still, Naruto's restlessness was beginning to affect the entire class. Iruka belatedly realized that Shikamaru had used his preoccupation with Naruto to fall asleep without being caught. Chouji wasn't even trying to hide the several bags of chips on his desk. The crowd of girls surrounding Sasuke were all passing notes to him, all of which were untouched by their intended recipient. All told, the classroom was a scene of silent chaos.

Iruka turned back toward the blackboard so that none of his students would see him crying. _Just one more week, just one more week, just one more week..._

* * *

When at last Friday, Iruka's day of blessed freedom arrived, the man was on the edge of a breakdown. He stumbled into the room ten minutes late, his hair in disarray, his eyes bloodshot and bleary, his posture slouched beneath the weight of hours of missed sleep.

"Today," he mumbled, "we'll be conducting the genin exams. This is your chance to get out of my class and never come back..."

A cheer that worsened his already severe migraine went up from the entire class. Akamaru's howling was especially painful to Iruka's aching ears. After a modicum of calm returned, he went on.

"Two other instructors along with myself will be calling you into the next room one at a time. Please wait quietly until your name is called."

---

One by one, the students were called in. Sasuke walked into the examination room without any emotion when his name was called, ignoring the shouts of encouragement from several of his female followers. Hinata watched the door as though it might attack her, and visibly trembled when she heard her name.

"Good luck, Hinata!" Naruto shouted as she walked shakily forward. Hinata turned a deep shade of red and ran inside, refusing to look at Naruto. _Why is she mad at me? Did I say something wrong?_

When at last he was the only person remaining, Naruto was called forward. With a fox like grin, Naruto bounded forth, eager to show the examiners that he was worthy of becoming a toad sage.

* * *

Iruka sighed in relief. Everyone had passed. Every. Single. Student. Of course, only nine of them would permanently become a jounin's problem rather than his, but it was an improvement nonetheless. Perhaps it was simply his own age, but every class had proved to be more troublesome than the last. Being rid of even a few students removed a huge weight from his shoulders. All that was left to do was to assign teams.

"What do we do with the new kid?" an instructor asked the gathered chuunin and jounin.

"His genjutsu is rather miserable, but as a direct combatant he was every bit as skilled as the Uchiha. Kurenai is a genjutsu specialist, so she could help him in that aspect."

"True. Who should be with him on the team? Sasuke should be with Kakashi because of their sharingan, and Kiba should go with him since he was dead last."

"We could add Sakura to team Kakashi as well. She had the highest test scores, so she and Sasuke could offset Kiba's deficiencies."

"Alright, and since we decided to keep the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, that would leave Hinata and Shino with Naruto and Kurenai."

"Makes sense. Naruto could help Hinata with her confidence issues, and Shino would add a nice level-headed influence on the team."

"Does everyone here agree with the teams then?"

The instructor received sever confirmations, along with a snore from Iruka.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thanks for all of the nice reviews of the previous chapter. I was struggling with writers block on this chapter for an aggravating amount of time. Spring break has started for me, and I'm staying in my dorm. Hopefully, that means I'll be able to add more chapters to this and my other story as well. No promises, but I'll try to get more stuff out soon. It's not like I have anything better to do right now, seeing as how I don't feel like studying organic chemistry.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto or its characters. Kishimoto does.

**Author's Note:** Thanks for all the feedback on this chapter. I've re-written parts of it, hopefully making it a little better. By the way, can the Byakugan see through genjutsu? I've forgotten.

**Chapter 3: Teamwork  
**

Naruto's first thought when he saw Kurenai-sensei was that Jiraiya would love her. Her red eyes held none of the fearful wrath that one would normally associate with such a color, but were instead mesmerizing. She favored a red and white outfit that did little to hide her figure rather than the standard jounin jacket. Her long black hair was in artful disarray.

"We'll start by introducing ourselves. I'm Kurenai Yuuhi, your teacher and team leader. My combat specialty is genjutsu. When I'm not doing ninja related work, I enjoy gardening. And I hate perverts."

_Sorry Grandpa Jiraiya, you're out of luck with this one._

"You next." she said, pointing at Shino.

"Me? I'm Shino Aburame. My hobbies include collecting and studying bugs. I hate people who are afraid of bugs and squash them for no reason. I aspire to one day become the leader of my clan." He said it all with a flat, emotionless tone, his expression hidden behind a high collar and sunglasses.

_Weird, _thought Naruto._  
_

"Alright," said Kurenai, not the least bit affected by Shino's strange behavior, "next."

Hinata stared down at the ground before quietly speaking up, "My name is Hinata Hyuuga. I like pressing flowers and training. I dislike people people who look down on others, and my dream is to prove myself to my father and become the leader of my clan."

Kurenai was well aware of how Hinata was treated in her home. It would certainly take some work to make that dream come true, but it wasn't beyond her abilities if only she had a little confidence.

At last, Kurenai turned toward Naruto, a memorable conversation with the hokage rising in her mind as she did so.

---flashback---

"Listen closely Kurenai. What I'm about to tell you is classified above S-rank. Not a single word of this can leave my office, understood?"

She nodded, already burning with a curiosity that uncharacteristic of her. 'Above S-rank' was a phrase she had never heard in all of her time as a jounin.

"You of course remember the Nine-Tailed Fox's attack twelve years ago, and how the fourth hokage managed to stop it."

"Of course." replied Kurenai, filled with a sense of foreboding. She didn't like where this conversation was going, but she pressed on nonetheless, "He sealed the beast within a newborn, afterward, the child died of supposedly natural causes, taking the fox with it. Are you telling me that the child was purposely killed?"

"Worse, or better depending on how you feel about infanticide. The fox's container is still very much alive. I merely told everyone that he was dead for his protection. He was actually taken away from the village to be trained in safety before returning here."

"You don't mean...?" Kurenai gasped, "_Naruto!?_"

"Exactly," said the hokage, "you catch on quickly. Yes, Naruto is the jinchuuriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox, the most powerful of all the tailed beasts. You _probably_ won't have to worry about it. From what I understand, the seal on it is very strong. However, as his instructor I felt you should know."

"Does he know about what's inside him?" asked Kurenai, still shocked by the revelation.

"Yes." Sarutobi replied simply.

---end flashback---

_Let's see how this kid turned out after growing up with such a weight on his shoulders._

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" the boy said without any prompting from his instructor, "I like training and toads. I hate people who hate toads. And by dream is to become the number one toad sage! A sage surpassing all others, past or present!"

"Perhaps you should tell your teammates what a toad sage is." Kurenai said. _It won't do for his friends to think he wants to be a frog when he grows up_.

"Right! A toad sage is one who has master the arts of the toads of Mount Myoboku, most importantly senjutsu. It's this awesome technique that allows you to do this thing called sage mode, which makes you super powerful. Once I learn it, I'll be even stronger than the hokage!"

Shino looked at him doubtfully, but if even half of the legends Kurenai heard about sages were true, Naruto wasn't exaggerating. Now that introductions were out of the way, it was time to give her students the bad news.

"Well then, that's it for today. Meet me at seven a.m. tomorrow at training ground eight for your final test."

"T-test?" Naruto spluttered, "but-"

"The academy test was just to see if you were ready for the _real_ test. Of the twenty-seven who graduated from the academy, only nine will become genin. The rest will be sent back for another year." She left them to sit in terror while she walked off, leaving them with a cheerful, "See ya later!"

* * *

Naruto had never been more nervous in his life than he was now, sitting in the shade of a tree on the training grounds. Grandpa Jiraiya had told him that the academy test would be a piece of cake. He hadn't mentioned anything about a second test. Hinata sat by a stream, watching her reflection as she twiddled her thumbs. Somehow, Shino was standing in the middle of the clearing with his hands in his pockets, looking supremely unconcerned.

The moment he heard Shino's watch beep to signify that it was seven-o-clock, Kurenai-sensei appeared in a loud blast of smoke by the lone tree near the center of the grounds. "Hi everyone!" she said cheerfully, "Are we all ready to begin?"

Shino nodded impassively, Hinata paled slightly, and Naruto managed to look more confident than he actually was.

"Alright then." Kurenai said approvingly, "The rules are simple. The person who can defeat me in combat before noon graduates, and the other two fail. If you come at me with the intent to kill, you _might_ be able to beat me. I'll give you thirty seconds to hide yourselves, starting now."

She closed her eyes and turned her back to all of them, starting the count in her head.

_...twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty!_

She had heard all of their movements, of course. She was a jounin after all. Even without opening her eyes, she knew that Hinata was hidden behind the bushes straight ahead, Shino was in a tree forty-five degrees to the left of her, and Naruto had _almost_ silently climbed into the tree next to her, prepared to ambush her at the first opening.

Kurenai smirked. _Clever... but not clever enough to get a jounin. _She intentionally looked elsewhere, presenting Naruto with the clear shot he was waiting for. Instead of dropping straight down as she expected, Naruto leaped above her and released a rainstorm of shuriken. _He took that intent to kill thing pretty seriously_, she thought as she evaded.

Landing gracefully behind Kurenai, Naruto pivoted on his heel to face her and rushed forward, unleashing a flurry of punches at her. _Excellent technique for one so young. He's nowhere near Lee's level, but he's still good. However..._

Kurenai dropped to the ground and swept out Naruto's feet with a low kick. Before he even hit the ground, she planted the palm of her hand on his chest and shoved with all of her strength. The boy was sent rolling along the ground, finally coming to a halt half a dozen meters from where he had started.

"Not bad kid, but I think you need a change in strategy." she said. _Come on, that's the whole point of this exercise. You guys can figure this out. Think..._

"Ha, I'm just getting warmed up!" he called back as he climbed back to his feet, his earlier fear seemingly forgotten in the heat of battle. _Good, at least he doesn't panic in a fight. _He formed a single hand sign before shouting,

"Lion's Mane Jutsu!"

His already long hair grew at an alarming rate, cascading over his shoulders and covering his entire back. He stretched out a hand toward Kurenai, and a thick lock shot forward at a tremendous speed. She only just managed to roll to one side. _Interesting... I've never seen a jutsu like that before. I wonder what else the toads taught him._

Naruto was now charging at her again, this time armed with sharp spines of his own hair. He ran his fingers through the fibers on his shoulders, pulling out several strands that had woven themselves into senbon. Though he threw them expertly, Kurenai had no difficulty swatting them out of the air in mid-flight. She leaped sideways and struck him from the side with kunai in hand, intending to cut off some of that deadly hair. But to her own surprise, the knife bounced off after only severing a few strands.

_I suppose I should expect nothing less from Jiraiya's student, but I still know your weakness kid._

Leaping back to give herself some space, she formed her own hand sign.

"Teleportation Jutsu!"

---

Right before Naruto's eyes, she vanished without a sound.

"What's the matter?" said a voice in his ear.

He swiped an arm out, sending a blade of hair at his opponent even before he faced her. But when he finished turning his head to look, there was no one there.

"I hope you're still warming up..."

Naruto whipped around to see her standing calmly just out of arm's reach. He threw a barrage of hair needles at her, but she disappeared just before they struck.

"...because this is disappointing." she called from her comfortable sitting spot in one of the tree branches.

_Wha-? How is she doing that?_

---

Hinata watched the fight unfold, growing more and more confused as it continued. Naruto had seemed to be doing alright at first, even catching Kurenai-sensei off guard once. But that changed the moment Kurenai used her jutsu. Even though she had called it a teleportation jutsu, she hadn't moved so much as a single muscle. Naruto was ferociously attacking... nothing. Kurenai simply stood right where she had started, watching with an amused smile as Naruto became increasingly frustrated with thin air.

Then everything suddenly fit into place. _Of course! He's under a genjutsu. That 'teleportation' name is just to throw him off, making him think that it's actually a real ninjutsu instead of an illusion._

Still smiling, Kurenai walked off into the trees on the other end of the clearing, leaving Naruto struggling wildly against an opponent who wasn't there.

---

_Now then,_ thought Kurenai, _Naruto's clearly in trouble. What will you do, Hinata? Shino? This is the _real_ test. Will you help him, or will you abandon him and try to defeat me on your own?_

To her delight, Hinata appeared from her hiding place and began cautiously approaching. Kurenai adjusted the genjutsu so that she appeared opposite Hinata and began something resembling a civil conversation with Naruto. She didn't want the kid accidentally striking his own teammate while she was trying to help him.

---

"...so here's a hint; there's more to this little test than you think-"

Kurenai suddenly dissolved into a thick cloud of smoke at the same moment that Naruto felt a hand on the small portion of his shoulder that wasn't covered in iron-hard hair.

"Naruto?" said a soft voice behind him.

He relaxed his grip on the hair senbon clutched between his knuckles and drew his locks back in to their normal length. When he first felt the hand, he had almost whipped around to attack, but it was just Hinata. "What happened? Where did Kurenai-sensei go?"

"That teleportation technique she used on you was just a genjutsu. She walked off into the trees over there. I don't know where she is now."

"Thanks, but why are you helping me? You could have attacked Kurenai while she was busy fighting with me." He turned to face her. _And why aren't you stuttering?_

She turned bright red the moment he looked at her, and immediately looked down at the ground. "W-well, you needed help... so I... um..."

_Never mind the stuttering part,_ Naruto thought dryly. "Well anyways, she just told me that there's more to this test than we think. What do you suppose that means?"

"It means that it will take all three of us to beat Kurenai-sensei."

Hinata and Naruto both jumped in surprise and turned toward a silently approaching Shino.

"But why all three of us? You heard the rules." Naruto asked, utterly perplexed.

Shino sighed, "It's just a trick to turn us against each other. Think about it, why would they put us on three-man teams only to break those teams apart? And how could they expect any one of us to beat a jounin alone? There must be more to this test than they're telling us. The answer must be that they expect us to work together. You weren't at the academy for any significant length of time so you probably don't know this, but teamwork was something the instructors stressed constantly."

Hinata nodded in understanding, and the more Naruto thought, the more certain he was that Shino was right. "So, do you have a plan?"

"I've already learned her location. I left one of my kikai beetles on her, so I'll be able to track her."

---

In her hiding place in the trees, Kurenai suddenly began frantically searching her clothes for the bug. _When did he do that!?_

---

"She's hasn't moved very far past the edge of the clearing. We'll take cover in the woods to prepare our attack. Naruto, she'll expect you to charge straight in, so that's exactly what you'll do. It shouldn't alert her that we're doing anything out of the ordinary. I'll send an insect clone with you so that she'll think I'm there too. Hinata, along with my real self, will sneak behind her and launch a surprise attack from the rear. Hinata will use her taijutsu while I use my remaining insects to drain her chakra. With any luck, she'll be weakened enough that we'll be able to take her down before she beats us."

---

Having given up on her search, Kurenai merely grinned. _Nice plan, Shino. Too bad I heard every word of it._

---

Naruto rushed at Kurenai alongside the the Shino who he was keenly aware was just a pile of bugs. _More than a little disgusting, but if this will help us win then I'll go along with it,_ Naruto thought as he threw needles of hair at his target. _All I have to do is keep her occupied, that's it.  
_

A shuriken from Kurenai suddenly ripped through the Shino next to him, and the clone dissolved into hundreds of beetles that scattered across the ground. _What!? She knew that was a clone!?_

The situation only worsened at the fight drew out. Just as Hinata made her appearance with an uncharacteristic look of determination on her face, Kurenai grabbed her by the arms and used her own momentum to toss her aside. _Hinata!_

A tide of insects approached the jounin from behind, but she leaped over it with out any difficultly. She landed on the tree branch right next to where Naruto knew Shino to be hidden. The crashing sound that followed told Naruto that Kurenai had dispatched Shino as well. _This is really bad..._

Kurenai dropped from the tree directly in front of Naruto. He prepared to launch spines of hair forward, but Kurenai formed a hand sign before he could manage to get out the attack.

"Sylvan Fetters!"

Naruto was suddenly captured by the interwoven branches of a tree that had most certainly _not_ been there just a few seconds ago. _It's only a genjutsu, it's only a genjutsu, it's only a genjutsu..._

He quickly tried to recall everything Grandpa Jiraiya had taught him about genjutsu. _The first step is to stop your chakra flow. After that, you force a large amount of chakra through your body to disrupt it._

The tree abruptly vanished, leaving Naruto free to move again. "Ha! I'm not falling for a genjutsu again!"

"Well done, it's not easy to break free from one of my techniques. Let's continue shall we?"

---

Kurenai felt a grin crossing her face. Her students were putting up an excellent fight. Not only was Naruto keeping her on her toes with that weird hair jutsu of his, but Hinata and Shino were now climbing back up to their feet. The three of them together were putting some serious pressure on her. When Hinata rejoined the fray with her taijutsu and Shino began sending his insects at her again, it took all of her skill to defend herself from their combined attacks.

Still, she was a jounin, an elite. There was no way she was going to be outdone by genin. Right as Naruto and Hinata closed in on her from either side for a combined assault, she performed a substitution with a nearby log. Before the two of them realized what she had just done, she threw a loop of steel wire around Hinata and cast another genjutsu on Naruto, this one making him hallucinate that she was behind him.

Turning toward Shino, she threw a blunted shuriken. As expected, a wall of bugs rose to block it, but the momentary distraction was all she needed to slip by him and bind him in a similar fashion as Hinata.

When she turned around, Naruto had managed to realize that he was under a genjutsu again. But by the time he released it, Kurenai had already placed the tip of a kunai against his back.

---

"Well kids, you did your best," their teacher smirked, "but..."

Naruto hung his head in disappointment, not daring to attack with a kunai so close to him.

"...you pass!"

Naruto's head snapped back up and he turned to stare at Kurenai-sensei, a look of wonderment on his face. "We pass? But we lost."

"Come on, did you really think you could beat a jounin? The only thing that matters is that you all worked together, and quite well at that." A smile lit up her features. "Congratulations! Team eight is officially formed! We finished pretty early, so go get washed up and meet back at the academy in one hour. From there I'll take you all out to lunch."

Naruto tried and failed to restrain a victory whoop. A rare smile graced Hinata's face. Shino made absolutely no reaction.

"Yes! Yahoo! We're ninja, we're ninja, we're ninja!"

His arms placed around his now official teammates, Naruto led the way back to the city. A smiling Kurenai watched them go before realizing just how sweaty she was herself. Those kids had given her a real workout.

_I guess I'd better get washed up too. And I need to find that beetle Shino put on me._ She made a mental note to never let Shino know just how much she hated bugs.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto or its characters. Kishimoto does.

**Author's Note:** Thanks for all of the feedback on the previous chapter. I've re-written parts of it, so take a look.

**Chapter 4: Family  
**

"So, how did your test go?" asked Jiraiya cheerfully, already knowing the answer. Naruto wouldn't be smiling if he had failed.

"You mean the test you didn't tell me about? That test?" Naruto tried to sound annoyed, but the grin still plastered across his face told Jiraiya that the boy was in too good a mood to be angry about anything.

Jiraiya held up his hands in mock surrender and adopted an innocent tone. "Hey, it was supposed to be a surprise. Telling you beforehand would kinda defeat the point, now wouldn't it?" His voice suddenly turned mischievous. "More importantly, I hear your jounin instructor is the gorgeous Kurenai Y-"

"Forget it." Naruto cut him off.

Jiraiya decided to take offense at Naruto's fully justified response. "What was that for? It's not like I was going to ask you to introduce me or anything." _Dammit, he knows me too well._ Jiraiya nervously tried to broach another subject. "So I understand that you're also teammates with Hinata Hyuuga..."

"Wha-? Are you a pedophile now!?"

_Even I'm not _that_ much of a pervert, brat._ "I'd intended to ask what _you_ thought of her." said the super pervert indignantly through gritted teeth.

Jiraiya quickly came to regret asking the dreaded question. Just as he had feared, every word Naruto spoke twisted the dagger in his heart a little further.

"Well, she's really _really _weird. I mean, she's all gloomy and she looks like she has a fever. She stutters a lot too, but only when she's talking to me, and she almost fainted when I put my arm around her..." his voice trailed off, and a surprised look suddenly crossed his face. "Hey, you don't think she's..."

_That's it kid! You've got it!_

"...afraid of me, do you?"

Jiraiya recoiled as though he had been physically struck. _Way to crush my hopes! Here I thought you had figured it out, and now..._ "So," Jiraiya began hoarsely, "when do you start missions?"

"Huh? Tomorrow I guess, but I'm meeting up with team for lunch in forty five minutes. I just came here to wash-"

"Lunch with Kurenai Yuuhi!? Can I-"

"Forget it."

* * *

Naruto set off toward the academy at a leisurely pace, the memory of Grandpa Jiraiya's pained look still on his mind. Seriously, all he had done was give his honest opinion of his teammates. But for some reason Gramps had looked as though he was trying to keep a straight face in spite of a deep stab wound to his kidney the whole time. Then there was that nasty smelling cologne that the old man had tried to spray him with, telling him, 'it's for your own good.' _Old people: I'll never understand them._

When he arrived back at the academy, dirt-and-scent-free, Shino and Kurenai were already waiting.

"So where are we eating?" Naruto called, "Ichiraku?"

Shino adjusted his sunglasses. "Naruto, Ichiraku Ramen is not the only restaurant in this city. In addition, ninja must eat a balanced diet. Ramen is not a nutrient dense food. You would do well to eat more vegetables."

"Bah, I hate vegetables!"

Shino made no response, although he did push up his glasses again.

"Sorry I'm late!" a voice cried out from behind Naruto. He turned to see Hinata running toward them, clad in a pretty pink kimono.

Naruto looked at her with his head tilted to one side, clearly perplexed. "Why are you all dressed up like that? It's not like we're going to eat in a palace..." He suddenly turned toward Kurenai excitedly, "are we!?"

"No, we're not. And you aren't exactly one to talk about dressing up." Kurenai said as she looked him up and down, "your outfit and hair are rather extravagant. The hair I can understand since it's part of your jutsu. But really, what's with the bright colors?"

"Hey!" said Naruto, offended, "I'll have you know that the Legendary Sannin Jiraiya picked this out himself!"

Kurenai sighed. He had probably only done that so Naruto would catch the eyes of the academy girls. She was well aware of Jiraiya's reputation, along with the series of 'novels' that he had written. "Well to answer your question, she's dressed up because she's a member of the Hyuuga clan, and she's expected to represent the clan well. Anyway, we should be going."

Naruto glanced back at Hinata as they set out. _She looks kinda cute..._

* * *

After a short walk filled with Naruto's ceaseless questioning, the team arrived at a small cafe on a street corner.

"It may not look like much, but they have some nice food here." Kurenai explained. "They also have some excellent sake..." she mused, more to herself than to her students.

Naruto scrutinized the menu with ever-growing confusion. "I don't recognize any of this stuff." he muttered as he scratched his head.

"What did you eat when you were growing up?" questioned Kurenai, "I understand you were raised by toads, so does that mean...?" _Please tell me he wasn't raised on insects,_ she thought, a sentiment that Shino shared.

"Well I could never get used to eating bugs," (Shino inwardly sighed in relief) "but Grandma Shima made this delicious lily pad soup."

All three of his teammates almost asked him what exactly lily pad soup was before deciding that they didn't really want to know.

"Um," Hinata cleared her throat, "cinnamon rolls are really good."

Shino adjusted his glasses. "Hinata, you missed the conversation earlier when I explained to Naruto the importance of eating a balanced-"

"Yeah, I'll try the cinnamon rolls!" Naruto declared. Shino adjusted his glasses once again.

---

Kurenai watched in amusement as Hinata and Naruto dug straight into dessert while Shino glanced at them disapprovingly between mouthfuls of salad. "So why don't you all give us a more complete description of your abilities? We'll be a more effective team if we know each others' strengths and weaknesses."

Shino carefully chewed on a bite of salad and swallowed before answering, "As you all know, my techniques revolve around using my kikai beetles. Their main function is to drain a person's chakra once they attach themselves to their victim. They can also be used to create a clone or make a shield around myself or an ally, and they can follow each others' scents, making them ideal for tracking." Shino immediately turned back to his salad after completing his explanation.

Hinata spoke up next. "W-well, I possess the byakugan eyes, which gives me a three-hundred-sixty degree field of vision, and allows me to see long distances and through solid objects." _Actually there's a blind spot, but that's a closely guarded secret._ "Because of the byakugan, I can also use the gentle fist taijutsu style... although I'm not very good at it yet." she finished quietly.

Naruto immediately picked up after her, even though his mouth was full of cinnamon roll. "Well, you already saw my Lion's Mane. Aside from that, I can also summon toads, use an attack called rasengan, and I have this awesome wind jutsu that makes blades of air surround my arms so that I can do more damage with my taijutsu. But Grandpa Jiraiya said that it was dangerous and that I shouldn't use it unless the lives of my friends were in danger." he finished disappointedly.

Their teacher nodded. She was glad to know that she had two people on her team who could become tracking experts. They could cover Naruto's weakness in that area while Naruto provided some power for direct confrontations. _All in all this a pretty well-balanced team. I'll have to thank the instructors for giving me this group._

* * *

Kurenai dismissed them after they had finished eating and began bracing herself for the dreaded conversation with Naruto. She followed the three of them from a distance, waiting for the moment when they would go their separate ways. Hinata quickly branched off, since the Hyuuga compound was on the opposite end of town. Naruto and Shino said their goodbyes a minute later, a brief conversation in which Shino adjusted his sunglasses multiple times. _He seems to do that whenever he's annoyed._

Once she was sure that Naruto was by himself, she called out, "Naruto, can I talk to you in private?"

Naruto turned around in alarm. "Huh, have you been following me this whole time? Couldn't you have just asked while we were all together?"

"Please Naruto, this is important. Just follow me." She led him into a deserted alley. _Now how do I start a conversation like this,_ she wondered to herself, _I guess I should just be straightforward about it._ She took a deep, calming breath before looking him in the eye and stating bluntly, "I need to talk to you about the Nine-Tailed Fox inside of you."

Much to Kurenai's surprise he simply responded, "What about it?"

It took all of her self control not to shout '_What about it!?_'

She managed to push through the stunned disbelief at his plain response. "What you need to understand is that most people won't be able to see you as anything other than what's inside of you if they find out. It's unfortunate, but it's the being said, you have to be prepared for the possibility that your teammates will learn of this."

Naruto nodded automatically, still trying to process what she had just told him. _Surely the fox isn't _that_ big of a deal, is it?_

Kurenai smiled warmly at him. "Don't worry about it too much. I don't think anything less of you because of it, and your teammates won't either once they get to know the real you. I just wanted you to be aware of the situation."

* * *

Naruto walked back toward his home in a stupor. _Why didn't anyone tell me it was so important? Grandpa Jiraiya warned me not to tell anyone, but he never said why._

Jiraiya was waiting for him when he pushed open the door to their apartment.

"So kid, did Kurenai say anything about me?"

"Grandpa, can you tell me more about the Nine-Tailed Fox?"

The sullen tone in the kids voice warned Jiraiya that this would not be a pleasant conversation. _Oh no, what did that Yuuhi say to him._ "Why do want to know? Jiraiya asked as nonchalantly as he could.

"...No reason." Naruto lied unconvincingly.

After a moment's silence, Jiraiya said with a seriousness that Naruto had never associated with the man, "Let's go to the kitchen, I guess I have a lot of explaining to do."

---

Naruto's gaze sat unmoving on the table in front him, his mind still trying to grasp everything his Grandfather had told him. "And my parents?" he asked. The boy had always known that he was an orphan, but somehow it had never seemed to matter like it did now.

"Your father was the man who sealed the fox inside you: Minato Namikaze, the fourth hokage. Your mother was Kushina Uzumaki, a kunoichi from the Land of Whirlpools. I've carried a picture with me that I intended to give to you when the time was right. I guess that time is now."

From his pocket, Jiraiya pulled a worn out photograph. "Their relationship was kept secret for your mother's safety, as well as your own. I'm afraid this is the best picture I have."

Naruto wordlessly accepted it and held it in the light. Smiling up at him were two people. One had spiky blond hair and piercing blue eyes. If Naruto cut his hair and covered up his whiskers, he could have passed for a younger version of the man.

Next to him stood a beautiful red headed woman with one hand resting on her swollen belly._ That's me,_ Naruto realized. Truth be told, the woman looked nothing like him except for the grin spread across her face.

Tears began welling up Naruto's eyes. He looked up, intending to ask Jiraiya to give him some time alone, only to discover that the old man had already left. Still intent on the photograph, Naruto walked to his room and collapsed on the bed there. After spending nearly an hour drinking in every detail of the image of his family, Naruto drifted off into an early sleep.

* * *

Jiraiya glanced up worriedly when Naruto entered the kitchen for breakfast the next morning. To his great surprise, Naruto was grinning. _Minato's face and Kushina's smile. He really is his parents' child._

"So grandpa, I decided something last night." he said as he took a seat and poured some cereal into the bowl in front of him.

"Oh?"

Naruto looked up and smiled. "Even though my parents are gone, I still have a family. I have you, Grandpa Fukasaku, Grandma Shima, Kurenai-sensei, Shino and Hinata. I would have liked to meet my real mother and father, but I still have all of you."

_Heh, look at him Minato, Kushina. This kid has every reason to be sad, but he still keeps his chin up. He's right of course, although that Hinata will be more of an official part of the family if I have anything to say about it._


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto or its characters. Kishimoto does.

**Chapter 5: Matchmaking and Missions**

The cogs in Jiraiya's head ticked away diligently as he watched Naruto walk out the front door, eager to begin his first mission. There was difficult work to be done today. It would take all of his skills to set up his oblivious godson with that Hyuuga hottie, but it had to be done. Reeling in a lady was a test, a rite of passage that would complete the child's transition from being a boy to becoming a man. It was a sacred thing, and as such, Jiraiya could not simply tell Naruto what to do. However, it didn't mean that Jiraiya couldn't tweak the circumstances a little.

His mind furiously at work devising plans, Jiraiya stealthily climbed catlike through a window out onto the roof, where he would be able to follow Naruto from a high vantage point.

* * *

Naruto meandered down the streets, humming tunelessly to himself as he made his way to the hokage tower where he and the rest of his team would receive orders for their first mission. He looked calm outwardly, but inside he was burning with excitement. _What will my first mission be? Rescuing a princess? Slaying a fierce dragon? Oh, this is killing me!_

Unable to stand the wait any longer, Naruto broke into a run. As he sharply turned a corner, his only warning of an impending collision was the sudden appearance of a pair of white eyes, widened in surprise. He barely managed to remain on his feet while Hinata stumbled back, landing in a pile of crates and sending most of them tumbling to the ground with an almighty crash.

"Oh, sorry Hinata, are you okay?" Naruto held out his hand to help her to her feet. Hinata stared blankly at the hand as a red color slowly rose to cover her face. After several long moments, she finally seemed to realize what he was doing. Her hand shakily reached out to take his and he pulled the girl to her feet.

---

_Hm... not a bad start kid, and I didn't even do anything. Still, there weren't any real sparks that time. Perhaps something a little more intimate...?_

Jiraiya observed the two of them carefully as he silently leaped from building to building. Slowly, a plan began taking shape in his mind. Once he had decided on a course of action, Jiraiya jumped several buildings ahead to set up his trap. He used a jutsu to grow his hair in to a long, thin rope. No more than a few strands thick but reinforced with chakra, it was unbreakable and all but invisible.

The old man couldn't help but feel a _little_ guilty over what he was about to do, but he reassured himself by saying it was for the good of both kids. He carefully lowered the rope down to the street and guided it into place. All that was left to do was to wait for all of the actors to take their places on stage.

Right on cue, Naruto and Hinata walked into sight. Jiraiya watched with bated breath, waiting until Hinata stepped right past the hidden rope.

_Now!_

Using is chakra to maneuver the hairs, they snaked out and wrapped themselves around Hinata's ankle. With a small 'eep!' she lost her balance. _Alright Naruto, it's your show now. Don't disappoint me._ The girl seemed to plummet to the ground in slow motion, and just as Jiraiya had hoped, Naruto saw her falling and lunged forward to catch her.

He missed.

Hinata slipped straight through his open arms and continued downward. Jiraiya almost covered his eyes, but a moment later was glad he hadn't. Just when he had though all hope to be lost, Hinata's arm flailed out wildly and somehow caught Naruto's sleeve.

_Score! This is even better than I had hoped!_

---

"Whoa, that was close." Naruto said conversationally, apparently oblivious to the embarrassing nature of the position they were in. "Are you okay? You're not hurt are you?"

Hinata could only blush more and more fiercely as passersby halted in their tracks to stare at the two of them. Her hands planted shakily on the ground were all that prevented her from laying directly on top of Naruto.

She felt herself grow dizzy as blood rushed to her head. Naruto's concerned features wavered as though in a heat haze beneath her. He said something else, but her ears didn't seem to be functioning properly. Blackness crept into the edges of her sight, spreading out until it consumed her entirely. She heard one last faint shout of 'Hinata!' before night overtook her.

---

"Hinata? Hinata!? Hey, hey Hinata!"

Naruto might as well have spared himself the attention-gathering shouts; Hinata was out cold. Gently pushing her limp form off of himself, Naruto began a fierce internal debate. _Oh man, now we're gonna be late! I don't have time to wait for her to wake up, and it's not like I can carry her either._ Naruto looked up desperately, as though hoping a magical solution would swoop down upon him from the rooftops. Most unfortunately, no idea came to save him. The more he thought, the more sure he became that carrying Hinata _was_ his best option.

An uncomfortable heat crept into his face when he turned to face her, and he almost lost his nerve. His awkward feeling increased a hundred-fold as he clumsily picked up her inert body. After a moment of struggling that attracted a large number of stares, Naruto finally managed to get her onto his back piggyback style. He set off toward the hokage tower while focusing his eyes firmly on the ground. It was much easier to watch the dirt road go by beneath him than it was to return the curious looks of the villagers.

---

_Ho ho... he's blushing. Shame the girl fainted, but this is definitely a starting point. It's only a matter of time now. He'll start daydreaming about her, go through a little preteen awkwardness, and hook up with her after some sappy emotional scene, all the while giving me material for my next book._

Content with his work, Jiraiya slipped from his hiding spot and set off in the direction of the hot springs. _I may be finished with Naruto for now, but I still have some _other_ research to do,_ he thought with a grin and a nosebleed.

* * *

Five minutes late, the door to the briefing room opened. Kurenai whipped around, ready to scold her students. Instead she remained silent, unable to formulate a response to what she was seeing. Naruto was nervously avoiding eye contact with every one of the room's occupants, but it wasn't the boy's behavior that drew her attention. It was the clearly unconscious Hinata that was slumped on his back.

Kurenai glanced over at Shino, noting that even he seemed to have reacted to the spectacle. His eyebrows were visibly raised over the tops of his glasses, something she assumed to be a sign of surprise.

Naruto set Hinata in a chair by the door with some difficulty before stepping forward and saying in an unusually quiet voice, "We're here..."

Kurenai tried out a few sentences in her head, but in the end couldn't think of any comment to give on the situation.

"Ahem, um, it seems we're ready for our first mission, Lord Hokage," she said to the man at the desk at the head of the room.

Sarutobi cast a glance at the unconscious girl before looking back at Kurenai as though doubting her words, but he nodded nonetheless. With the sound of rustling papers, he pulled out a stack of documents. Picking up the top one, he cleared his throat and said, "Well Kurenai, I've already picked out your team's first mission. You'll be arranging flowers at the Yamanaka's flower shop."

"What!?"

Naruto seemed to have forgotten his earlier bashful behavior. His mouth was opening and closing like a fish out of water, but no words came out. He would doubtlessly be complaining later, but at the moment he seemed to have been struck speechless by the news of his first mission. Kurenai sighed inwardly, _They always react this way when they find out what it's really like to be a genin._

* * *

Ino's occasional bossy instructions were the only noises that interrupted the sound of Kurenai's loudest student grumbling mutinously, although she was being suspiciously polite to Naruto. _What's Asuma doing? She should be on a mission right now with the rest of her team._

---  
Sitting on a hillside with one of his students, Asuma could only stare agape at the game board in front of him. Shikamaru had caught him in a beautifully executed checkmate in just seven moves! How the hell did he do that!?  
---

Kurenai walked up to Naruto and Ino and turned to the girl. "Excuse me, but could I talk to my student for a moment?" Ino pouted, but eventually nodded and began harrying her other two genin after fluttering her eyelashes in front of Naruto. Kurenai waited for the girl to walk well out of earshot before speaking. She was well known to be a rumormonger, and the jounin didn't want to supply her with new gossip to spread.

After Kurenai decided that Ino was safely far away, she locked gaze with Naruto and asked, "Why was Hinata unconscious when the two of you walked in?"

Naruto's eyes immediately shot to the ground and he began nervously digging the tip of his foot into the shop's floor. "Well, we bumped into each other on the way to the hokage tower, and while we were walking she tripped and..." he blushed slightly, "...and she fell on top of me and passed out."

Kurenai began processing what the boy had just told her. _An uncomfortable situation to be sure, but to pass out like that... Hinata's pretty shy, so I guess that isn't too out of character for her._ She glanced up at Naruto, who shot her a quizzical look in return. _Could it be that she likes him? Inconvenient, but the only alternative I can think of is that she's scared of him, which is much worse._

Naruto's nervous voice snapped her out of thoughts. "Um, Kurenai-sensei...?"

She belatedly realized that she had been staring at her student while she was thinking. "Ah, right. You'd best get back to work now Naruto."

Kurenai walked back to the front a shop and took a seat where she would be able to think in peace. Ino's face lit up when she saw her, most likely because it meant that Naruto was now alone.

Relationships between shinobi often led to complications, but the law had no official stance on the issue. If Hinata was indeed infatuated with Naruto, and if that ended up blossoming into love, she would be genuinely happy for her. She turned her gaze to the girl in question, who in a stark contrast to Naruto seemed to be enjoying the menial labor. _I'll just observe for now. If my suspicions prove true, _then_ I'll have a talk with them. Right now I would just be causing the two of them unnecessary embarrassment._

---

Hinata tied up another bundle of flowers before setting them aside on the counter, smiling as the did so. While this certainly wasn't the most exciting of missions, it certainly was relaxing.

At least it was until Shino approached her.

"Forgive me if I'm prying," he said stoically, "but may I ask why you were unconscious this morning?"

Her face immediately flushed at the reminder of the memory she had been so desperately trying to forget. She wasn't sure that she would ever get over her embarrassment. After a moment's uncomfortable hesitation, Shino spoke up again. "I'm merely asking out of concern for a teammate. I understand if it's none of my business."

He had already started to walk away when Hinata almost imperceptibly stammered, "W-wait." Shino turned back around and watched her expectantly.

"I... I ran into him on the way here... then we starting walking together and I tripped and... and I... I fell on top of him." She finished in a mortified whisper. "I must have passed out after that."

Shino paused to digest what she had just said. "I see," he said impassively after spending a moment in thought, "do you like him?"

Hinata gasped, both confounded by Shino's bold question and grateful that Ino was standing at the _other_ end of the shop. "I don't know... I mean, I admire him, but... it's still too soon to say if I really _like_ him."

"Very well then," he said calmly as ever, "if I may offer my advice, I think it prudent to speak with him and become more comfortable around him. Leaving this matter unresolved will never change the situation, and we can't have you continuously fainting."

Hinata stared down at the ground ashamedly, causing a slight pang of guilt in Shino.

"My apologies, it was not my intention to offend you."

The two of them worked together on the flowers after that, Shino making slight attempts at small talk and Hinata trying her utmost to ignore Ino flirting with Naruto. Though she did her best to deny her own feelings, she couldn't help but become slightly distressed by Ino's actions. _Wait, if I'm getting jealous, does that mean that I really...? Ohhh, _she cried inwardly, _I don't know what to do, I don't even know what's going on!_

* * *

By the end of the three hour long assignment, Naruto was starting to feel quite resentful of his godfather. _That lying old man always told me how exciting being a ninja was! He never said anything about gardening or creepy girls!_ Even several minutes after the fact, Naruto was still slightly frightened by that Ino girl's actions. _Grandpa Jiraiya _likes_ this kind of stuff? That was scary, not fun!_

It was in a foul mood that Naruto returned to the mission office trailing behind the rest of his team.

"Ah," said Old Man Hokage as he looked up from some important looking document, "how did your mission-"

"It was _boring_!" shouted Naruto before anyone could stop him. "Can't you give us a real mission!?"

Shino adjusted his glasses.

Sarutobi's hand rose to massage his already aching temples. "Naruto, that isn't how missions work." he said patiently. "You're all genin fresh from your training, so you'll be doing missions that have no danger involved. The point is to improve you teamwork _before_ you get into a combat situation. Ninja who can't work together get killed in battle."

Much to the hokage's displeasure, the word 'killed' did not sober Naruto as he had intended it to. The boy _did_ become quiet, but he still projected an aura of defiance that grated against Sarutobi's nerves. The kid was bringing back unpleasant memories of one of his former students. _He really has grown up to be another Jiraiya. Well, at least he isn't a womanizer._

"Okay," Sarutobi sighed, already regretting what he was about to do, "I'll give you a C-ranked mission. A thief has been on the loose, and so far as we know he's hiding in a forest southeast of here, about a two day march. You'll be going to apprehend him." _This shouldn't be a problem. Kurenai can easily handle a small time crook on her own._

Kurenai nodded, having picked up on the hokage's thoughts, before giving her student a tired look. Naruto was jumping up and down with enthusiasm, whooping all the while. Hinata appeared slightly nervous at getting a C-ranked mission so soon, but a more determined look settled on her face after she glanced at both Naruto and her sensei. Shino adjusted his glasses.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Ahh, preteens and their silly emotions... anyways, sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. We'll finally be seeing some real action in the next chapter.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto or its characters. Kishimoto does.

**Author's Note:** This chapter is why the fic is rated T.

**Chapter 6: A Fearsome Chakra  
**

Jiraiya couldn't help but chuckle at the memory of his godson's antics earlier that morning. The boy had almost forgotten breakfast in his rush to go on his first _real_ mission.

_Sorry kid, but I think Kurenai Yuuhi will be doing all the actual work. You're just gonna sit around and watch. But... he might still get something out of this. He'll be out there for a total of three nights... sleeping under the stars alongside the Hyuuga hottie. It's not too late, maybe I could follow... no, I would be found out almost instantly. Too bad, I might have been able to 'tweak the circumstances' again._

* * *

As the squad marched ever onward among the trees, Naruto couldn't help but draw ahead of his team on several occasions, despite Kurenai-sensei's many admonishments. After all, he was off to catch a thief, a villain. How could he not get carried away by his own anticipation?

"Naruto," Shino said as he adjusted his glasses for the sixth time, "it is important for a ninja squad to maintain formation. Unlikely as it is, we could be attacked at any moment, and we must be prepared for that eventuality."

"Yeah yeah..." Naruto responded, also for the sixth time. He slowed his pace enough for the rest of the group to catch up with him before once again speeding up to take the distant lead.

Kurenai repressed the urge to bury her face into the palm of her hand as she muttered to Shino and Hinata, "Come on, let's all just pick up the pace. There's no stopping him."

* * *

For what it was worth, Naruto's aggravating enthusiasm had at least gotten them to their destination half a day earlier than expected. Team eight hid themselves behind a thick growth of bushes, spying on the aged log cabin looked as though it were held together by nothing more than spit and prayers. Kurenai turned to her genin, preparing to brief them on the plan one last time.

"Alright then, I'll be the one making the capture. You'll be forming a perimeter in case our target somehow slips past me." _Which certainly _won't_ happen. I'd die of shame before being outwitted by some lowlife crook._ "You are _not_ to attempt any heroics."

"Why did you look at me when you said that, sensei?" Naruto asked indignantly.

"Hinata," Kurenai said, completely ignoring Naruto, "look inside and make sure the thief is there. If he isn't, we'll hide ourselves in the trees and wait for him."

The genin nodded and turned to the cabin, muttering 'byakugan' as she did so. Veins stood out against the sides of her head, and for a moment she observed silently. Suddenly she gasped and recoiled in surprise.

"Th-there are five people standing up in there, and another person is dead on the floor... and there's another person in the tree right above us!"

Kurenai's head shot up in alarm. _How could I have missed someone so close by!?_ Sure enough a man shrouded entirely in a hooded brown cloak looked down at them. _He must have been trained in the ninja arts. No ordinary person would be able to go undetected._

"Hey fellas," the man called out in a deep, gravelly voice, "we have visitors."

The five others dressed in similar garments burst from the cabin door and faced off against the newcomers. Kurenai weighed their odds. It was six against the four of them, and three of those four had never seen combat. Their opponents' skills were an unknown, but they were at least not amateurs. _I might be able to fight them, but the kids are in serious danger here. They won't be able to outrun these guys either, so the best option right now is to talk our way out of this._

"We are shinobi from the Hidden Leaf. It was our mission to apprehend the thief here, but you seem to have taken care of that for us. We have no reason to fight, nor do we have a desire to do so. Let's just go our separate ways, shall we?"

One of the men, the leader it seemed, stepped forward. "No reason to fight? The fact that you're ninja of the Leaf means we _have _to fight. Shame you found us. If you hadn't we could have let you go. It's nothing personal, but we can't have the law know about our little band. Get 'em!"

On cue, one of them ran through a series of hand signs that caused a thick layer of mist to settle over the area, reducing the visibility to just a few meters. Meanwhile, the man above them dropped a handful of kunai, not bothering to aim his throws at all. The blades seemed to bury themselves harmlessly into the ground. Then Kurenai's heart skipped a beat when she caught sight of the explosive tags wrapped around the handle of each of them.

"Scatter!" she screamed. Her team reacted with admirable speed, leaping aside just in time to avoid the explosions that ripped through the space they had occupied just moments before, but she knew that they had all been placed in a bad position. Before the smoke even finished clearing, their foes moved in to separate them. Two of them stood before her. Another one faced Naruto, who was standing off by himself. The last three were surrounding Shino and Hinata. _These guys certainly aren't amateurs. Be careful kids. I'll make sure I end this quickly and help you._

* * *

When he started learning ninja arts, Jiraiya would often train him by launching sneak attacks. After years of dealing with his grandpa, Naruto had learned to quickly react to unexpected assaults. And so it was with no hesitation that Naruto activated his Lion's Mane Jutsu. From the slowly dispersing smoke, a shuriken sliced through the air toward him. With a wave of his hand, Naruto's hair enfolded his body like a protective wing. The shuriken bounced off harmlessly, but before he could launch a counterattack, his assailant produced a sword from his cloak and brought it down viciously upon Naruto's shield.

One strand at a time, Naruto's hair was severed by the blade. _He's strong! I have to go on the offensive before gets through my defense._ That said, it wouldn't be easy to gain the initiative. He was at his limit controlling his hair. One hand was directing his Lion's Mane, and unlike Jiraiya Naruto needed both of his hands to form a Rasengan. All of his shuriken and kunai were stored in the scroll on his back, where they were not readily accessible.

Still, he wasn't entirely without options. Keeping his left arm in place supporting his hair, Naruto raised his right arm to his face. With his teeth, he pulled off the bandages that were wrapped around it.

_Three._

Naruto pulled the cloth from his mouth and turned slightly to face his attacker. He simultaneously tossed the bandages forward and kicked off the ground with all the strength he could muster in his legs.

_Two._

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the bandages floated lazily through the air between the two combatants. Naruto drew his arms into his chest as he sailed back, causing his hair to brace himself more thoroughly.

_One._

The assailant seemed to realize that something bad was about to happen. He too jumped back, but he didn't move soon enough.

_Zero._

The explosive tags that had been secreted within the bandages detonated all at once. The world spun wildly around Naruto as he was thrown away from the blast like a pile of rags. Pain shot through Naruto's shoulder as it made contact with the ground. Several seconds later he finally rolled to a stop. He climbed to his feet with some difficulty; it still felt as though the the world was spinning out of control. Through the fog, Naruto was able to make out the figure of his attacker. The man hadn't traveled far before encountering a tree trunk. He was now slumped at the base of the tree, twitching, but not rising.

The clanging of weapons was just barely audible over the ringing in Naruto's ears, but he wasn't able to determine the direction it came from. No matter where he looked, the only things in sight were the outlines of trees obscured by the dense mist. Desperate, he walked unsteadily in a random direction, hoping to be lucky enough to come upon his team.

---

After nearly a minute of stumbling a weaving path through the woods, he caught sight of a figure lying in the ground. Naruto ran forward on shaky feet. Only when he crouched next to the person was he able to recognize the form as being Hinata. Her breath came in ragged gasps and a bloody gash was open above her right eye, but her life didn't seem to be in any danger.

"N-Naruto..." her voice came out as only a whisper, but it carried a sense of urgency. "Behind-"

The top of his already aching head erupted into sudden splitting pain. He collapsed soundlessly face first into the leaves below. Laughing voices came from above him, but he was only able to catch a few faint words.

"...last... brat... finish... woman next..."

_'Last brat'... That means they must have gotten Shino as well... dammit... dammit dammit dammit! I need to help them! Power.... I need... I NEED POWER!!_

From somewhere in the depths of his mind, an echoing growl answered his plea.

* * *

Kurenai cursed her misfortune. She ordinarily would have been able to take these two clowns without any trouble, but the mist was making it difficult for her to fight effectively, and her foes were taking full advantage of that fact. Shuriken flew in from random directions, but the two men themselves were completely hidden within the depths of the mist, and she wouldn't be able to place a genjutsu on them unless she could see them.

"So what's are you guys up to?" she called out, trying to buy herself time to think, "Is there some criminal syndicate involved in all this?"

A voice chuckled through the mist, "No no, nothing so fancy. We're just a humble band of deserters trying to make a living. Our little friend in the cabin was rather good at what he did, you see, so we _liberated_ some of his spoils. That golden trophy in particular will catch _quite_ a nice price."

She hurled a shuriken in the direction the man's voice came from, but she wasn't rewarded with a cry of pain. _Hmph, just more thieves. Except these ones are dangerous._

Her thoughts were interrupted as a wave of hot air washed over her. Before she could ponder its source, the blood in her veins turned to ice and an unnatural terror gripped her, blanking out all rationality.

Scorching flames burst from her body, eating away her flesh and leaving bleached white bones visible for all the world to see. She writhed in agony but then the flames were gone and her body restored.

She didn't have time to feel relieved before the ground dropped out from beneath her. She twisted randomly through the air in free fall, occasionally catching glimpses of what lay beneath: two rows of yellow fangs, a maw opened wide, ready to devour her whole.

Suddenly she was standing back where she had started, but now there was a pain in her chest unlike anything she had felt before. She looked down in horror at the massive claw that had pierced her from behind. Blood ran down its length in rivulets that dripped into an ever growing crimson puddle at her feet.

Over and over, visions of her death danced through her mind. _Get a hold of yourself!_ What little was left of her mind was screaming at her to wake up. _These are just hallucinations. A genjutsu?_ Through the mist, she heard the screams and sobs of the two men she was fighting. _No, they wouldn't be targeting themselves as well, and there's nothing wrong with my chakra flow either._ Kurenai looked around wildly, all the while fighting back still more horrific nightmares.

One direction in particular seemed to feel more ominous than the others. What's more it seemed to be where the hot, bone chilling wind was coming from. Kurenai ran toward it with all haste, wondering why she wasn't running _away_ from it.

Each step she took was with greater reluctance, but she _had_ to find out what was happening. At last she reached the source of her terror. The gales had blown away the mist, presenting her with a clear view of the bloodcurdling scene.

Everywhere she looked streams of flame lashed through the surroundings, searing the air, gouging trenches into the earth. The trees groaned and creaked under the crushing force bearing down on them. The leaves littering the forest floor withered as they were flung every which way. With a crack, a massive branch fell from a tree, only to be ripped to splinters when it encounter one of the jets of fire. _No, not fire. This is pure chakra._

Three of the brown cloaked men were lying on the ground, all of them clearly dead judging by the ragged holes that had been ripped through each of their guts. Off to one side, Shino was propped against a tree, his insects swarming madly in an attempt to escape the red chakra. On the other end of the bloody tableau, Hinata was on the ground, supporting herself with one hand on the forest floor. Her other hand was clutching her heart. Her byakugan was activated, and she was staring at the center of the chaos in absolute terror.

In the middle of it all, Naruto stood with his back turned to her, blood dripping from one of his arms. He was strangely calm given the terrifying maelstrom surrounding him. It was almost as though he was the eye of a fiery hurricane. With a deliberate movement, he glanced over his shoulder at Kurenai.

Despite years of emotional training, Kurenai couldn't restrain a gasp of fear at his changed appearance. His bared teeth had lengthened and sharpened to the point that they seemed more like the fangs of some terrible monstrosity rather than the teeth of a human being. The whisker like marks on his cheeks had expanded into thick scars. But most the disturbing of his features were his eyes. Even from this distance, she could make out the bloody red irises and the slit pupils.

"Naruto...?" Kurenai said tentatively, surprised by how shaky and small her voice had become. Her conversation with the hokage immediately jumped back into her mind. _This... this has to be the nine tails._

* * *

**Author's Note:** What do you think? I made the fox's transformation a little more... intense... than it is in Kishimoto's work.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto or its characters. Kishimoto does.

**Chapter 7: Rising Tension  
**

Naruto's red eyed glare bored into Kurenai without any sign of recognition. Kurenai stared back with an outward appearance of calm, but inside her mind was working frantically. _He's not thinking rationally right now, those corpses are proof enough of that._ She hadn't known her student for long, but she knew him well enough to be sure that Naruto didn't have it in him to kill three men in such a gruesome manner. _I need to calm him down, help him come to his senses._

"Naruto," she called over the deafening roar of the chakra storm, careful not to make any sudden movements, "get a hold of yourself. They're no longer a threat. Hinata and Shino are safe now."

Naruto looked around, but he didn't seem to take in any of his surroundings. Not his dead foes, not his terrified teammates, not his anxious teacher. He looked simply like a monster searching for more blood to spill.

_Not good, he might attack Hinata or Shino next if he doesn't get a hold of himself._ "Naruto!" she shouted firmly, "that's enough! Wake up already."

The once cheerful boy snarled and whipped his clawed arm violently through the air, sending one of the burning streams of chakra slicing toward his teacher. Kurenai only just leaped aside before the fiery energy slammed into the ground, gouging out huge chunks of earth.

_Dammit,_ she thought with a vehemence that surprised even herself, _this isn't Naruto, it's just a mindless beast. Wait, mindless... yeah, that might work._ Kurenai ran through a set of hand signs while watching Naruto for another attack, but he seemed content to simply watch her.

"Feather Nirvana Jutsu!"

Naruto looked around curiously. Right now he was hallucinating white feathers drifting lazily through the air, unaffected on their way to the ground by the storm of energy that was tearing through the forest around him. His eyelids began to droop, and a moment later he dropped to the torn forest floor beneath him. Slowly, the red chakra began to dissipate. His appearance began returning to normal, and after just a few seconds he once again looked like the excitable young man she remembered, except for the fact that he was unconscious.

Kurenai felt a heavy weight lift off of her chest, only then realizing how difficult it had been for her to breathe. As she had thought, Naruto in his beastly state had not had the presence of mind to break the genjutsu.

"Shino, Hinata, are you okay?"

She heard only an indistinct mutter from Shino and a whimper from Hinata, but at least they were still alive. Kurenai walked over to one of the corpses, lifting back its hood to reveal a bearded face wearing a Suna headband with a scratch through it. _Missing nin from the land of wind... that's right, that one man mentioned something about them being deserters._

"Sensei," Hinata whispered urgently, "There are more people coming!"

"Where?"

Hinata pointed shakily in a direction.

Kurenai thought hurriedly. Her team was in no shape for another fight, that was certain. "Alright, you two take Naruto and hide in those bushes over there. If things get dangerous, I want you to forget about me and run, understand?"

Both of them nodded mutely and began cautiously approaching the unconscious boy.

"Hurry!" Kurenai hissed.

Her two genin stepped forward without further delay and picked up Naruto, Hinata holding his head and Shino holding his feet. Together, the carried him away into hiding. Kurenai glanced around the scene, trying to find some way to make it appear that she was the only living person present.

She crouched by one of the dead men and, revolted by what she was doing, drew a kunai and plunged both it and her hand into the bloody hole in the man's gut. Deciding that she looked appropriately murderous to match the gruesome scene, she stood back up and waited for the new arrivals. Her subterfuge wouldn't hold up if the corpses were given even a cursory examination. With any luck, she would be able to talk her way out of the scene without being caught in a lie.

She didn't have to wait very long. After just a few heartbeats, three masked shinobi came to a halt in branches overlooking the grisly tableau.

"What happened here?" One of them asked.

"What does it look like? I killed them." Responded Kurenai simply, as though nothing was out of the ordinary. _Hunter nin, also from the hidden sand if the insignias on their masks are anything to go by. They can't be in the land of fire without permission from the hokage, but I'm not exactly in a position to argue with them here. I'd best hope they let me go._

"We sensed a great deal of killing intent a moment ago." He said as he watched her suspiciously from beneath his mask, "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

"A jutsu of mine," Kurenai lied smoothly, "I'm sure you understand that I can't give you the details."

The hunter nin hesitated for only a moment before nodding. Clearly he doubted her words, but it seemed he didn't want a fight any more than she did. "Very well then, I must ask that you leave immediately. We'll take care of this."

_I _shouldn't_ leave them alone in our territory like this, but It's not like I have much of a choice. The safety of my team comes first, after all.  
_

_

* * *

_Hinata and Shino watched the brief but tense exchange with bated breath. They quietly sighed in relief when their sensei walked away without any conflict. She had disappeared off into the woods to their left, no doubt to avoid drawing attention to her students' location.

As silently as they could, the two of them lifted Naruto's limp body and picked their way through the undergrowth to where Kurenai-sensei probably was. She wasn't difficult to find; she had been dragging her feet through the leaves so as to make a sound that the genin would be easily able to track.

When they caught sight of her through the trees, she glanced at them and placed a finger over her lips before continuing the same direction. Catching the hint, Shino and Hinata cut a path parallel to hers through the forest. Once she deemed them to be safely far away from the other shinobi, Kurenai approached them.

"How is he?"

Hinata glanced nervously at the boy now resting on the ground. "Still unconscious."

Asked Shino gravely, "Sensei, what happened to Naruto?"

Kurenai raked her head for a reasonable response. Finally she settled on simply delaying them. _They'll find out sooner or later, but it's not my secret to share. And there will only be trouble if they find out later that I lied to them._ "I'm afraid I can't tell you. Just forget- well, there's no way you'll be able to _forget _about this, but just set that question aside for now." She said it gently, but with a firm look that told them that there would be no arguing with her decision.

* * *

A single, chilled drop of water falling on his forehead woke Naruto. He instantly sat up, regretting it a moment later when a terrible headache caught up with him. Naruto looked around his bizarre surroundings. Dark, grimy walls stretched on seemingly forever, vanishing into shadows at the edge of his sight. He was sitting on a cold cement floor covered by a layer of stagnant water. The only noise breaking up the oppressive silence was the steady dripping of water falling from the rusted pipes overhead.

_What's going on? I... what was I doing? I was fighting that ninja, and then... and then... what...?_

Naruto suddenly jumped in alarm at the sound of a rumbling growl behind him. There stood a pair of enormous iron gates, almost the size of the gates of Konoha. There was no latch holding them closed, only a piece of paper stuck in the center with the word 'seal' written on it.

He jumped again when a low voice echoed from behind them.

"So, we meet at last young lad."

I pair of great red eyes and rows of pointed teeth appeared through the gates.

"Wh-who are you?" Naruto asked with sudden timidness.

"There's no need to be afraid child," the shapeless form hidden in the shadows said, with an almost parent-like warmth, "I'm the Nine-Tailed Fox. You were in danger moments ago, but I rescued you."

"Oh." said Naruto, unsettled. So _this_ was the vicious beast that Kurenai-sensei and Grandpa Jiraiya had warned him of. By the way it spoke now, it seemed almost friendly, but... he just couldn't identify it, but something about the voice was wrong... certainly _un_friendly.

"You'll be waking up soon, so remember this before you leave. If you ever find yourself in need of my power, just ask. I want nothing more than to help you."

The damp room began dissolving into white, and a moment later Naruto felt weightlessness take over his body as he drifted through empty space, left to wonder at the beast's strange amicability.

* * *

Kurenai was furiously attempting to wipe away every trace of blood from both herself and Naruto using a towel dampened with water from her canteen. She had already decided that she would not speak a word of this to Naruto, but would instead leave the matter in the more capable hands of Jiraiya. He would know what to do, or so she hoped at least.

"Now remember, let me do the talking when he wakes up."

Shino and Hinata merely nodded silently. Despite her best attempts to hide it, fear was plainly written across Hinata's face. Fear of the unconscious boy, and perhaps... concern for him as well? Shino... well, he was unreadable as always, but Kurenai could sense that he was still unsettled by the events of only minutes ago.

"And relax, what happened back there was... um... well the important thing is that the friendly, goofy Naruto you two know is the real one. He won't hurt you."

_Probably._

_

* * *

_Naruto's awakening happened very abruptly. One moment he had been out cold, and the next he bolted upright. Hinata, who was less than a meter away from him, leaped slightly in alarm at his sudden return to consciousness. The boy glanced wildly around himself, searching for the enemies who had been threatening his friends only moments ago.

"So," the cheerful voice of Kurenai-sensei drifted by, "You're finally awake. I was worried after those men attacked you. Don't worry, I chased them off."

Naruto glanced curiously at his teacher. _She rescued me? That's not the fox said. And something seems wrong with her too._ Kurenai's smile looked rather strained. _Maybe she's just stressed out from the fighting._ Naruto himself certainly felt stressed for some reason he couldn't quite put his finger on. On a sudden impulse, he felt his teeth with his tongue. They were perfectly normal, which only made him feel more confused. Somehow he had expected them to be sharper, longer, more beast-like. His hands too were unremarkable, despite the fact that the tips of his fingers beneath the nails ached.

Shino and Hinata, too, seemed to be different. While there was no telling what was going on behind Shino's darkened glasses, his silence seemed heavier than usual. Hinata was trying valiantly and failing miserably to look relaxed. She refused to meet Naruto's eyes, but not from her usual shyness Naruto somehow knew.

Kurenai spoke up again, most likely to break the oppressive air that had settled upon them from all of the 'not-talking' that was happening. "I was worried about all of you. I'll let you off the hook this time since our opponents were all around chuunin level, but it looks like we should spend a little more time training, eh?" She joked lamely.

The corners of Hinata's lips twitched, a motion that vaguely resembled a weak attempt at a forced smile, and Shino nodded absently. Naruto kept looking at each member of his team in turn, his thoughts sinking further into disarray the more he tried to figure out their odd behavior. _What happened?_

* * *

"So," began the hunter-nin in a high temper as he paced back and forth in front of the chuunin before him, "you ran away, _abandoning your posts_, because you were _scared_? Did I get that right? A snot nosed _genin_ frightened you so badly that you fled like little children."

One of the two remaining conscious ninja shifted uncomfortably, envying the third who had been knocked out by the concussive force of several exploding tags. Sure he would have a terrible headache when he finally came to, but at least he didn't have to go through this grilling, or not yet in any case. "Hey, you felt that killing intent too, and you were still a kilometer away. That was beyond anything I've ever experienced. Besides," he said, eager to turn the conversation away from a failure and toward a modicum of success, "we stuck to the cover story. As far as they know we were just rogues. The preparations for the chuunin exams haven't been compromised in any meaningful way."

The masked ninja twitched in irritation at the grown man's pitiful excuses. It was true that this incident wasn't a _complete_ disaster, but it could by no means be called a success either. "Fine, my men will remain here to fill in for your spots. Meanwhile, you can go explain to Lord Kazekage just why it was that you were so soundly defeated by a genin squad."

The false missing nin paled slightly at the thought of the far worse telling off he would be given by Lord Kazekage. Still, it couldn't be worse than anything else that had happened this blasted day.

* * *

Three days later, Kurenai slumped in her seat at her favorite bar. She had just spent a tense hour explaining the situation to Jiraiya and the hokage. It had been such a serious discussion that the perverted sage hadn't even bothered trying to make a move on her. When the meeting finally came to a none too early end, Sarutobi decreed that Team 8 would be placed temporarily off duty so that the toads of Mount Myoboku could deal with Naruto's troubles.

She took a sip from the exotic drink in front of her and sighed wearily. The poor boy still didn't know that he had killed three men. Kurenai wished that Naruto would never learn of that, or better yet, she wished that the incident had never occurred in the first place.

But... that was just a happy fantasy. Sooner or later he would have to find out, and it would be a terrible experience for him. The jounin forcibly dragged her mind away the memory of her first kill and took another calming swig of alcohol.

The stench of tobacco alerted Kurenai to a friend's arrival.

"Hello Asuma," she said without looking up.

The jounin's amused voice replied, "Ha, I guess there's no sneaking up on you, eh Kurenai?"

_How could anyone _not_ notice those foul cigarettes. The entire bar knew it was you the moment you opened the door._

"Hey, what's with this air of depression around you? Did a mission go poorly?" Asuma asked with what might have been genuine concern.

"You could say that," Kurenai said, wearing a bitter smile. One of her genin becoming a demonic mockery of a human being and killing three people in front of his friends could indeed be called a poor outcome to the mission. Not only that, but the illegal appearance of the hunter-nin had worried the hokage even more than it worried herself. She could sympathize with him, though. Relations with the sand were relatively good, but that didn't change the fact that ninja from one nation had been active in another without permission. Making too big a deal out of this incident would cause tension between the two villages, yet trespassing could not be ignored either.

_Diplomacy._ She thought of the word as a disgusting swear. _Why does it have to be so complicated? Can't we just be friends?_

"So, uh..." Asuma's hesitant words broke her out of her reverie. "What are you drinking?"

"Oh this?" Kurenai was glad to move to more carefree small talk. "It's a new drink here called a frozen margarita. It's almost like a fruit smoothie with some alcohol. This one's strawberry, one of my favorites. Would you care for a sip?"

Asuma merely scoffed, "Fruit and alcohol? It'll never last."

* * *

"So gramps, why are we going back home, huh? This isn't permanent is it? I was just starting to get used to my team, even if they were acting all weird and stuff."

Jiraiya marveled at the ability of children to ask the most inopportune of questions. What was he supposed to say? 'Naruto, I'll be teaching you to restrain the fox so that you won't go a murderous rampage again.' That certainly wouldn't do.

"I think," he began, settling for a partial truth, "it's time for you to learn a little about controlling the Nine-Tailed Fox."

"Uh huh, and how do I do that?"

Naruto's guardian instantly switched to a tone of voice meant to make him sound smarter than he really was. "It's quite simple. You unconsciously draw out the fox's power when your emotions become out of control. To prevent that power from getting out of hand, you'll learn to remain calm by practicing the art of meditation."

"Meditation?"

Jiraiya braced himself for the explosion of disappointment. "Basically, you stay perfectly still and don't think."

As predicted, Naruto's discontentment with the idea was made vocal almost before Jiraiya finished talking. "That's _boring_! Isn't there something more exciting you can teach me?"

"You know," the sannin responded slyly, "meditation is an important part of becoming a sage."

"When do we start? Can we start now, please? Pleeaasse?" Naruto spoke so excitedly that the words came out as a single jumble that was only vaguely recognizable as speech.

Jiraiya hid a smile, refreshed by the kid's return to his old personality, no matter how annoying it was. The aging man had always gotten a laugh at how quickly his adopted child's tune would change as soon as the 'S-word' was mentioned. For a moment, he toyed with the idea of telling Naruto that flirting was an also an important part of becoming a sage. _No, even he wouldn't fall for that one. Too bad, really. He could one day surpass me as both a sage and a ladies man._


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or its characters Kishimoto does.

Hey guys, I guess it's been a while huh? Sorry for the absurdly huge delay.

**Chapter 8: An Uncomfortable Homecoming  
**

_Keep completely calm. No thought, no emotion, only focus._

_This is stupid._

_No! Focus! Must not lose focus!_

_My foot itches._

_Don't get distracted. And don't scratch it either. Stay perfectly still. Perfectly still..._

_I'm hungry._

Naruto's foot gave a slight, involuntary twitch, disturbing the giant leaf upon which he was supposed to be meditating and sending him sliding inexorably toward the drop-off. Panic rose up inside of him as his hands scrambled to find purchase, but the leaf had a smooth, waxy coating which provided no handholds and little friction. With a shout of dismay, he slid off the end and fell several meters to the ground, landing in a festering pool of mud.

"Dammit!" he complained as he struggled to pull giant clumps of goo from his now tangled long hair.

Jiraiya, with only the tiniest hint of arrogance in his voice, called down to his apprentice, "So are we having a bad day?"  
He had somehow managed to remain motionless on his leaf for two hours.

"Isn't this whole meditating thing supposed to help me control my anger? It's kinda having the opposite effect, in case you haven't noticed. Why can't you just teach me a new jutsu or something?"

Up on his perch, Jiraiya was beginning grow annoyed with his student's lack of discipline. _Still, I know how to control him._ "Sage," he called down. Naruto only muttered mutinously at the word. _He's that frustrated? Guess I'll have to change tactics._ "Ramen."

Naruto jumped to his feet in an instant, his discontent having vanished the moment his godfather mentioned food. "Ramen, really? I can have ramen?"

"If you can manage to stay still for half an hour, I'll ask Grandma Shima to make some for you. How does that sound?"

The boy needed no further encouragement. He let loose a cheer which echoed across the entire mountain, and climbed his way back up to the leaf.

* * *

"Ramen?"

From Shima's tone of voice, it seemed as though the word was a disgusting swear, never to be uttered in _her_ kitchen. "You'll be eating grasshopper stew tonight, and you'll be grateful for it, too. Insects are packed with nutrients, unlike those foul noodles you humans like. You'll be a shrimp forever if you don't get any protein. Kids these days..."

Naruto thought it a bit rich for Grandma Shima to call _him _a shrimp, when _she_ didn't even reach his knee. He turned to cast Jiraiya a traitorous look. He had fulfilled his end of the bargain, now where was his ramen? The pervy sage merely shrugged helplessly. Sighing in dismay, Naruto awkwardly took a seat at the only table in the room, one that was far too small for human usage, and resigned himself to yet another meal of insects and tubers.

"Hey, Grandpa Jiraiya?"

The old man looked up from his plate of freshly dug up roots and raised an eyebrow, indicating that he was listening.

"Why do I have to learn to do this meditation thing anyways? I mean, I know it's about controlling the fox and all, but it didn't seem all that evil or anything when I talked to it-"

Nobody else at the table had been talking, but their silence suddenly became more profound, seeming to solidify like ice at Naruto's words.

"-after that ninja guy knocked me out. That fox _did_ seem kinda creepy, but..." His voice trailed off when he noticed his elders' expressions. Jiraiya and Fukasaku cast ominous glances at each other, while Shima wore a look of worry. A grasshopper on one of the plates took advantage of the momentary inattentiveness to jump out the window to safety.

Jiraiya took a deep breath. "What you have to understand, Naruto, is that the fox isn't some poor misunderstood creature that needs to eat and sleep like any other animal. It's a living mass of bloodthirsty, hateful chakra. If it's being nice to you, it probably has some ulterior motive. Do _not_ trust it, and whatever you do, do _not_ attempt to draw on its power." He spoke heavily, as though he regretted uttering each word.

Naruto placed a hand on his stomach, suddenly feeling ill, and for once not because of the contents of his plate. Almost any talk about the fox these days made him uncomfortable.

"Uh, say Naruto," said Jiraiya in a wildly transparent attempt to break the tension, "I hear you let a ninja sneak up on you during that mission. What's up with that? I thought I trained you well enough that you wouldn't make some kind of rookie mistake." He tried to insert a joking tone into his voice, but his feeble humor did nothing to lighten the atmosphere.

"Hey, it was my first time in a real battle, and I was distracted. I thought Hinata might have been dead!" he replied indignantly.

_Well at least he was distracted by Hinata rather than Shino._ Jiraiya paused for a moment to shudder at the unhappy alternative, then quickly pushed on. "So, how about I teach you a new jutsu that can make use of your meditation, and prevent people from catching you off-guard like that?"

A look of mild interest appeared on Naruto's face. Normally, he would jump up and down when a new jutsu was mentioned, but the Jiraiya supposed that this reaction was the best he could have realistically expected given the circumstances.

"See, your teammates are both good at sensory techniques. Hinata has her byakugan, and Shino has his insects, but you don't really have anything to match those abilities. This jutsu can be used to detect any enemies that come your way. Technically, it doesn't require meditation, but it will certainly make the jutsu easier to maintain for long periods of time."

What interest there had been slid from Naruto's face. Clearly he was disappointed that this technique didn't make lots of light, sound, and most importantly of all, mass destruction.

_Oh well,_ Jiraiya thought,_ this _will_ come in useful, even if it won't be all that exciting._

* * *

Hinata and Shino stumbled along the road back to their homes after yet another exhausting day of training with Kurenai-sensei.

"Thanks for helping me with my new jutsu today, Shino. I think it's almost ready now."

"Hinata." Shino said. Hinata jumped in surprise; she had not been expecting a response from him, and it was only the third time that day that he had spoken. "In the forest, when we were fighting those thieves and Naruto... changed... did you experience any hallucinations?"

Her chest tightened when the memory she had tried so hard to suppress drifted back to the surface. "Yes," she muttered.

"And did any of those visions include a fox?"

_What a strange question. They were all just-_ Hinata's train of thought came to an unexpected halt. Now that Shino mentioned it... rows of teeth... claws... fiery red hairs which she suddenly understood to be fur... "Yes," she said again. "Why do you ask though?"

But Shino had once again retreated into his usual silence, and he remained deep in thought until their path split off to their respective homes.

* * *

Kurenai lay collapsed in the hard wooden chair, feeling as old as the Hokage in front of her.

"So how is your team holding together with Naruto gone?"

"They're doing well. At least that's how it seems at a glance, but they're still troubled by what happened. I am too, at that." She massaged her temples. "I swear I'm getting more and more paranoid with each passing day. I'm half expecting them to run away when Naruto finally returns."

Sarutobi joined her in a weary sigh. This was almost certainly as unsolvable a problem as he had ever seen. The jinchuuriki made this world so much more complicated than it had any business being. He glanced at the paperwork on his desk, thinking for one absurd moment that it could somehow solve his problems. And to his delight and near shock, two words on the topmost document jumped out to fulfill his desperate search.

"It's perfect!" He shouted, literally jumping from his seat as he did so.

"What is?" Kurenai was giving him a look that was clearly questioning his sanity.

"The Chunin Exams! Don't you see? You could enter your team in the exams!"

If Kurenai had not been wondering about the state of Hokage's mind before, she certainly was now. "And why would I do that? Surely you've realized from what I've said that they won't have the necessary teamwork abilities to make it through the Forest of Death."

"Exactly." Sarutobi said triumphantly. Yuhi looked as though she were on the edge of declaring him as being senile, but he ignored it in his delight. "They'll either learn to work as a team, or-"

Kurenai jumped from her seat as well, the realization of what he was suggesting dawning upon her. She was not sharing in the Hokage's enthusiasm, however. "They'll learn to work as a team, or they'll _die_! It would be madness to send them in as they are now! They _might_ get past the written portion, but it's called the Forest of _Death_ for a reason!"

"They won't die," the old fool scoffed. "Think about who's on your team. You've got a Hyuga, an Aburame, and the apprentice of a Legendary Sannin. They'll be able to handle whatever comes their way."

There was no arguing with that statement, but still...

Sarutobi spoke again before she could muster a counter argument. "Doing D-rank missions won't help them, only real combat will. There's a difference between trusting a teammate to fold laundry correctly and trusting a teammate to cover your back. As experienced as you are, you should know that well."

After several futile seconds of trying to convince herself that Sarutobi was delusional, Kurenai at last gave a grudging nod.

* * *

The next day had to be one of the most awkward that Kurenai had ever experienced. Naruto stood in front of his team at the gates of Konoha, making his return with with a hesitant 'Hi.' Hinata muttered 'Hi' in return, and Shino made no reaction whatsoever. Kurenai would have been concerned at this, were it not for the fact that Hinata was always shy and Shino seemed uninterested in everything around him unless it had six legs. No, what bothered her was Naruto's unusual quietness. Normally, he greeted his friends so enthusiastically that passerby would stop and jump in alarm. Not now. For the first time in her life, Kurenai was uncomfortable with the fact that nobody was looking at her.

"Big news everyone! I've signed you all up for the Chunin Exams!" she said with mock enthusiasm.

For several seconds, silence was her only response. Then Shino of all people spoke up.

"Why?"

_Why indeed?_ Kurenai gave a fake cough and cleared her throat to give herself time to come up with a reasonable excuse. "Ahem, well, I simply think you're ready to take on this test. All three of you show tremendous potential, so I'm confident you'll manage to learn well from this experience and grow into splendid shinobi." _Yeah, that'll do._

Shino nodded sagely, although it was impossible to know what he was really thinking behind his dark glasses.

"Now then, I'm sure you all have a lot of catching up to do. Why don't you all get some food? I'm afraid I have to do some more paperwork to make sure you're all registered." Kurenai hoped that with only their fellow teammates to talk to, they all might be able to start a conversation. It was a long shot, but it was all she could hope for.

Leaving her students to decide on a restaurant, she headed straight for the women's bathhouses; she needed to talk to Jiraiya about Naruto's training and what was to be done about the child's inner beast.

* * *

"So, how about some ramen? Grandpa Jiraiya did promise me some, after all."

Shino adjusted his glasses. "That sounds... acceptable." It was clear from his tone of voice he didn't find the choice acceptable at all, but he had long since learned that arguing with Naruto about food was an exercise in futility.

The walk to Ichiraku's passed in an almost depressing, though thankfully short, silence. Naruto kept opening his mouth during the walk, trying to make conversation, trying to think of a joke, but no words passed his lips.

It was with a sense of relief that they all arrived at the ramen stand to place their orders. Unable to strike up any light chatter with his friends, Naruto turned instead to the booth's only other occupant. He was a ninja, probably chunin judging by his outfit, and had a very prominent scar stretching across the bridge of his nose.

"Hey, I remember you!"

The man turned to him, and immediately winced.

"You're that instructor guy from the academy! Your name... don't tell me... your name's... Rukia! Yeah, that's right, how's it going, Rukia?"

Naruto received a look that wished him a painful death from the instructor, but he wasn't able to respond because of the noodles filling his mouth.

"Yeah, your class was really boring ya know. You should teach your students more jutsu and forget about all those written tests, Rukia."

With a great deal of effort, the chunin instructor swallowed all of the food in his mouth and shouted, "It's Iruka! I-ru-ka! You got that you little brat? And that's Iruka -_sensei_ to you!"

Naruto had a wise-ass remark on the tip of his tongue, but an unexpected sound cut him off. Hinata was giggling. The laughter was infectious, and in no time at all, Naruto joined her with an amused chuckle. Iruka grinned after a moment of half-hearted scowling, and even Shino was secretly smiling behind his high collar. At last, they were a team again.

**Author's Note:** I am aware that I have just changed the spelling of sever words. And once again, I apologize for the absurdly long delay. I hope to see you all much sooner next time.


End file.
